IslamicFinance.de

Guyana, which joined the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 1998, but not the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), an organ of that group, will finally join the bank by mid-year according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan. Since Guyana is now a low-middle-income country, it cannot easily access concessionary loans from traditional lenders, and this is one reason why Guyana will join 56 other countries that are members of the IsDB. The IsDB now wants to market its product in the Caribbean and, with Guyana now poised to join, the bank will open an office in a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

From November 16 -15, Suriname will host a meeting of central banks and monetary authorities of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries. This will be one of the first meetings of the OIC that Paramaribo will host to enhance its economic standing and raise its global profile. The meeting will bring together economic and financial officials from OIC member states under the theme: "Structural and financial policies to cope with international and domestic economic challenges in the OIC member countries." The first day of the meeting will be dedicated to the experts’ group workshop. On the second day, the meeting of governors will take place.

The UAE was ranked first in Islamic trading among members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2012, with trade valued at $91.3 billion. The UAE accounted for 13.40 per cent of the volume of trade between member countries, said Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of OIC, in a statement on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting for the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC).

In 2007, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) created the Science, Technology and Innovation Organisation (STIO) to organise cooperative research and pool resources among its 57 member countries. STIO’s operated under the banner ‘Your money for your projects’ butut there is very little to show for its six years of existence. One problem is the politics of power within the Islamic world. It is important to rise above such politics to create organisations with shared ownership. Furthermore, member countries are allowed to spend up to 90 per cent of their financial commitment to STIO within their countries with just 10 per cent going to the organisation. Therefore, countries have tended to see the 10 per cent contribution as an undesirable tax. Without a fresh perspective, major redesign, and some inspiration, STIO is likely to remain dead on arrival.

Political, humanitarian and financial aid to the victims of violence in northwest Myanmar is being organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. According to Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the dimensions of the violent conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas are hardly known. Therefore, the call for help including housing, food, medical help and political support must be answered.